Sheffield United: ‘No one is bigger than this football club’ insists Blades boss

Chris Wilder has warned his January targets must be prepared to sacrifice themselves for Sheffield United or forget about securing transfers to Bramall Lane.

Wilder, the United manager, received the go-ahead to strengthen his squad earlier this month following talks with co-owners Kevin McCabe and HRH Abdullah bin Musa’ed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Despite ruling out a wholesale makeover of United’s playing staff - “We’ve worked hard to create something and we don’t want to smash that up” - he admitted “one or two” new faces could join the club before January 31st’s deadline for permanent signings.

But Wilder said: “The players know how we roll, what we demand and what we expect. They have that choice, to decide whether they want to take it on board and be involved or not. The players are playing well, they are giving everything for the shirt and that’s all I want.”

Wilder, in tandem with United’s assistant manager Alan Knill and head of recruitment Paul Mitchell, finalised his list of potential acquisitions before Monday’s victory over Oldham Athletic. That result ensured his team remained in second place, a point behind leaders Scunthorpe, ahead of the New Year’s Eve fixture against his former club Northampton Town.

“The good thing about this group is the way they all pull in the same direction,” Wilder said. “Their commitment has been excellent so far but it’s got to stay that way all the way through between now and the end of the season. If you want to be a part of the group then you have to have that approach. If not, then it won’t work.”